Woot, new chapter. Thanks for the reviews, "Starzinmieyez", "IxoxoHeartoxoxNuka", and "Sadan1992" (great hearing from you again, by the way). As always, your reviews are greatly appreciated. And thanks to those who added this stories to their favorites/alerts. It makes me feel a lot more motivated. 8) - (If you didn't know, that was intended to be a happy face, lol).

~2~

As morning slowly dawned, rays of light penetrated through the cracks of Pride Rock into the dimly lit den. A week had passed since the birth of Kiara and Kovu's cubs and everything since then went by smoothly. Though Kovu was still new to the responsibility of being a king, Simba was always happy to help the new monarch. As a king, he was required to wake up at the crack of dawn to ensure that the Pridelands were safe. Zazu tagged along, planted onto the king's shoulder, giving the morning report.

"Kovu." someone called out.

The two noticed the former king coming up to them. He seemed much more relaxed than usual.

"Good morning, sire." Zazu saluted.

"Good morning, Zazu." Simba said. He nodded at Kovu. "You're doing well for your first week."

"Thanks…" Kovu replied weakly.

"What's wrong, Kovu?" Simba asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't think I'm ready for this…" the chocolate colored lion spoke. "Being a father…and a king. All of this is happening so fast."

"Kovu, you're doing a wonderful job." Simba insisted. "Don't let the pressure get to you—and trust me, there's a lot of it."

Kovu held his tongue after that, hoping not to get on Simba's bad side again.

"Will you join us, Simba?" he asked, flashing a smile.

"Why not?" Simba replied.

Just as the trio resumed their patrol, they heard a series of loud ricochets.

"Take cover!" Simba cried.

He, Kovu and Zazu crouched behind a large rock, witnessing the rest of animals stampede away from the commotion. They heard several brays and whines of worry, and often—pain. Moments after the last shot, the three investigated. They saw several herbivores, still hiding. Kovu and Zazu found the body of one animal, which was lying on its side…dead.

"Simba," he called.

The auburn maned lion came almost immediately. There was a tiny, round hole in his body, particularly his chest.

"That's probably what killed him." Simba suggested. "What could it be?"

"It doesn't look like anything a lion or hyena would do." Kovu added.

Zazu, who flew off the king's shoulder, noticed a small round almost cylinder shaped object on the floor.

"Sire! Look here." Zazu cried, pointing at the object.

It was a charcoal colored and very small.

"What is it?" Kovu asked.

"I don't know," Simba responded. "But it looks like this was the thing that killed him."

He could tell because it had thin coats of crimson still on it.

"I'll see if Rafiki or Nefu know what it is." he continued.

Nefu was the apprentice and nephew of Rafiki [I'm not sure if anyone knows him from the T&P series. But it was a Rafiki's Fables episode]. He was older than Kovu and Kiara but he was definitely younger than Nuka. Rafiki, never having children of his own, treated Nefu like one of his own, and shared with him his metaphors of life, which most of the time confused the young mandrill. Now, he was an adult and was positive he would follow Rafiki's footprints and become the next shaman for the Pridelands in the event of Rafiki's passing.

The three got back to Pride Rock, and all the other lions were in shock when they saw the tiny but dangerous object. The old mandrill held the cold metal between his fingertips, examining it with his naked eye.

"Deez is a stone of death." Rafiki said.

The lioness gasped in horror.

"Are you sure, Rafiki?" a paranoid Kiara asked, fearing for the welfare of her cubs.

"Fraid tis true." the wise mandrill responded. "The poachers use theez to stab into de bodies of dere catch. For dere teeth are too weak."

The pride jumped back.

"What do they eat?"

"Dey tend to eat plants and birds. But don't get too comfortable. All it takes is one stone of death to kill you. Don't take dee chance."

The mandrill departed shortly after, his silky fur caressed by the mild winds.

"Deez is terrible…"

An awkward silence...

"What are we going to do?" Kiara asked her husband, as she nestled her cubs in the crook of her arm. The cubs, who were sleeping peacefully in the comfort of their mother's hold, were completely oblivious to what was going on.

"Zazu! Tonight you investigate." Kovu suggested.

"But Sire!" Zazu responded. "Don't you think it's a little too dangerous for—?"

"That's an order." Kovu interrupted sternly.

"A-a-lright, Sire." the hornbill stammered. "Tonight it is…"

After what seemed to be a lifetime, nighttime arrived. Zazu, still nervous about confronting to poachers, bit his lip as the pride wished him good luck. He wanted to tell them how dangerous this could be, but he's been loyal to the pride for generations. He emitted a deep sigh as he took off and flew south, towards the pack of poachers.

Meanwhile, at the "pack", a young woman sat in a tree, humming in rhythm with the songs of the nightlife. Her right hand gripped onto a red, glossy pencil. And with her left, she held an old burgundy colored journal, filled with hundreds of golden pages. Her copper colored hair blew freely as the nocturnal winds traveled throughout the lands. Her silky smooth, peach colored skin glistened as the moon's radiant illumination made her skin glisten. Her pale green eyes admired the scenery, and took quick glances at the journal as she wrote stories about her experience. She noticed two familiar figures coming down the path. It was two other males, hauling a dead hare along with them.

"You know how I feel about you killing animals!" she cried, leaping from the limb.

"One less hungry mouth to feed." the older of the two said as he pulled out a blade from his pocket. "And three more to nourish."

"Father! Please tell me you and Andrew aren't going to eat that."

"Why not, Jeannette?" the younger male asked as he began to make a fire. "It's food, isn't it?"

Oh for God's sakes. It's like I'm dealing with animals…

"I'll just go to bed." Jeannette responded, making a face in disgust as she walked back to her tent.

Jeannette's love for animals and nature went unrecognized to her father and Andrew, much to her displeasure. Spending hours at a time reading books about nature back in Cape Town made her love for nature blossom when she was just a little girl. Fortunately, her family had a rich background. Her father often ventured to the African wilderness on safaris annually. Jeannette only started going with him when she was 14, for he feared the safaris would be too dangerous for his young daughter. It's been her fourth visit to the wilderness. Eventually, a friend of the family agreed to let their son, Andrew, tag along with the father and daughter duo, which secretly angered Jeanette.

To her, Andrew was cocky, annoying, displeasing and rude. What made it even worse was that Andrew had a crush on her for years, and their mothers would often joke about them getting married. Though she knew they were teasing her, the thought of that ever happening made her sick to her stomach. She noticed a bird on the same limb where she was a few moments ago, look around.

"Funny," she yawned. "I didn't know hornbills were nocturnal."

She closed her tent and fell asleep.

ZAZU'S POV

These creatures seemed much more sophisticated then I thought. Yet, they were very foreign in my eyes. They didn't sleep in a den, but in a triangular shaped abode. There were three of them set several paces from one another. I focused on two of them, who were eating their catch, a dead hare. It was skinned and thrown into a fire. Savages! Did they really have to skin the poor thing, and on top of that burn it, humiliating it even in death?

Their claws were too dull to cut through the thick skin of their prey, so the older of the two, pulled out a sharp blade and sliced through the meat, putting the individual slices in the fire. But wait! Where were the stones of death Rafiki had mentioned earlier? I swapped down when the coast was clear and decided to do some scavenging. I snuck into one of the cream-colored pyramids, and noticed a box with several of the stones spilled out. Another object that caught my eyes was this peculiar shaped stick that was lying in front of me. I placed a wing against its jet-black shaft, which had a cold, metallic feel to it. The rear of the object was made of what seemed to be wood. It had a few other additions, including a crescent shaped object, which was the same color as the majority of the stick. I backed away from the object, but my anxiety unwillingly tipped over a box of the death stones, which brought the attention of one of the creatures.

"What was that?" one of them asked.

"Probably some rat who got in the tent." the second one replied. "I'll get him, don't worry."

I saw the silhouette coming closer and closer to the tent. I panicked, running out of the dwelling just as he peered into the entrance. He grabbed for the stick, loading it with the stones of death, and aimed it at me. He pulled the crescent shaped object, which sent numerous stones heading my way.

"Get back here!" he cried, as he grew red with fury.

He shot at me 3 more times and smirked evilly when he heard a shrill squawk.

"That'll teach him."

He walked back towards his prey, satisfied but enraged. I tightly shut my eyes as I prepared to look at the wounds. I was certain death was near. I opened them only to realize that my body didn't have a scratch on it. It was a miracle! Come to think of it, I wasn't the one who had squawked earlier either. This place was too dangerous for me! As I prepared for the journey back to Pride Rock, I noticed a bird in a tree, holding its wing.

"Help me." she cried. "Someone! I think it's broken!"

I couldn't let her suffer any longer. I flew up to her, consoling her.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"My wing. It's broken!" she stammered, exposing the fresh wound made into her left wing.

It was circular—just like the one the dead antelope had. She'd been hit with the stone of death!

"You gotta help me, please!" she begged. "I'll die."

"You'll be fine, don't worry." I said, pacifying the bird.

Her feathers were pink like amaranths. The tip of her wings was a flame-colored orange. An amber colored streak ran down from the top of her head all the way to the tip of her beak. Her magnificent royal red eyes glistened as tears began to well. She was scared—and I was here to help.

"I'll carry you home with me." I said, securing the frightened bird under my wing. "I won't let you die."

"T-t-t-thank y-y-you." she said shakily, as she almost broke into tears.

I didn't have the heart to leave her like this. I wasn't too sure Kovu would let her join the pride due to his paranoia following the discovery of the poachers. But it wouldn't hurt to try.

"You'll leave once your wing heals, correct?" Kovu asked, looking down at us.

"I promise, your majesty." she said. "Please let me stay."

Kovu took a moment of silence so he could think. She was just a bird. What harm could she cause?

"She can stay." he agreed finally. "But she must leave once her wounds heal."

"Thank you, your majesty." she said with a bow. "Your generosity is greatly appreciated."

Kovu turned away to get his long awaited slumber. The rest of the pride was fast asleep.

"We should get to bed, now." I suggested, walking into the den. "Good night…"

"Zula." she said, with a smile. "My name's Zula."

"Pleasure to meet you." I replied courteously. "I'm Zazu."

Before I could move another inch, she brought me into a hug with her right wing. She didn't know how much I was blushing. I'm sure that hug meant nothing more than a thank-you. But I couldn't resist.

"Thank you so much, Zazu." she said softly. "I won't cause too much trouble."

She trotted inside the den, her left wing limp due to her injury. I smiled at the sight of such a beautiful bird. But I could never see myself with such a young, ravishing, flamboyant beauty like her. I caught up to her, my usual spot near the cave's mouth, reserved for my arrival. I nestled into my typical sleeping poise, until I saw Zula coming towards me.

"It's kind of cold over here." I said. "Are you sure you want to stay?"

"It's alright," she replied. "I'll just cuddle up with you."

What did she just say?

"Sure." I feigned, bottling up my emotions. I tried to act as calm as I could. But in reality, my stomach was doing somersaults. She rest her head against my side, giggling.

"Good night." she said in a whisper.

"Good night," I replied.

Well, this was chapter 3. As you can see, Zazu's in LOOOOVE (Ooooo…). Anyway, review please. :)

PS: I just re-uploaded this chapter because I mistakes Cape Cod for Cape Town. Jeanette, her father and Andrew are from South Africa, not Massachusetts. Sorry about that. :)